quilt

American  

[kwilt] / kwɪlt /

noun

• quilts
  plural

1. a coverlet for a bed, made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance, as wool or down, between them and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.

2. anything quilted or resembling a quilt.

3. a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.

4. Obsolete. a mattress.

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verb (used with object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.

2. to sew up between pieces of material.

3. to pad or line with material.

verb (used without object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to make quilts or quilted work.

quilt British  

/ kwɪlt /

noun

1. a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams

2. a bedspread or counterpane

3. anything quilted or resembling a quilt

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verb

1. to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between them

   to quilt cotton and wool

2. to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way

3. to pad with material

4. informal to strike; clout

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quilter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quilts
  plural

Participles

• quilting
  present
• quilted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quilt
  simple
• quilts
  simple
• have quilted
  perfect
• has quilted
  perfect
• am quilting
  progressive
• are quilting
  progressive
• is quilting
  progressive
• have been quilting
  perfect progressive
• has been quilting
  perfect progressive

Past

• quilted
  simple
• had quilted
  perfect
• was quilting
  progressive
• were quilting
  progressive
• had been quilting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quilt
  simple
• will have quilted
  perfect
• will be quilting
  progressive
• will have been quilting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of quilt

1250–1300; Middle English quilte < Old French cuilte < Latin culcita mattress, cushion

Explanation

A quilt is a thick cover for a bed, made from pieces of fabric that are stitched together and filled with padding. Quilt is also a verb, so you can quilt a quilt. The simplest quilts have two layers of fabric that are sewn on either side of a layer of batting, a thin type of stuffing. Patchwork quilts have small pieces of cotton sewn into patterns, and the fabric is sewn over the batting with stitches that make decorative designs. A quilt was originally the same thing as a mattress, and the word comes from the Latin culcita, "mattress or bolster."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quilt quilts quilted quilting

That first week, we had a TV and a kind of makeshift conversation pit: a quilt, a mattress, some pillows.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

She has also made a quilt, using fabrics which reminded her of her time in prison.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

I don’t know what to call the music I’m making because it’s such a sonic quilt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

An older sister turns to sewing her bin of fabric scraps into a quilt top or putting together a jigsaw puzzle to get her dopamine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

She and Mom would stretch out on the patchwork quilt, with the enormous bowl between them.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

"The sheets I laid, the quilts I covered, and the clothes I wore were all covered with piles of patches," said Xu.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

It educates us in many arcane worlds of arts and crafts, quilts, chairs, pickle crocks and other items whose value really can be in the eye of the beholder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

John Trumbull’s iconic paintings of the Revolution are joined by historic printings, weapons, pottery, quilts and more in a patriotic display that shows how these creators shaped a visual history of the young country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

Nearly a year after moving in, Weiss has filled the apartment with her stitched collages, quilts and the artworks of others, many of which she described as “trades.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025

At last she blew out the light, and slid down under the quilts.

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson

“I’m not interested in making things to show or sell in a gallery now,” Saar says, adjusting her quilted cobalt vest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

I sewed and quilted through adult life, but retirement has stepped up my game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

He was last seen wearing a quilted green-brown Barbour jacket over a beige woollen jumper, with navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

Kidman's Australian compatriot and fellow actress Margot Robbie took time to pose in front of the catwalk, wearing a loose black quilted bomber jacket over a black bralette top, paired with wide-leg black trousers.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

His blue over-tunic was long, quilted, and dark, with yellow clasps that gleamed in the torch- light.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

Perhaps that is because while I was teaching and teaching teachers, I also had my side gigs—entertaining big groups, experimenting in the kitchen, a quilting group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

For example, quilting has long been a domestically appropriate medium for women to express their political beliefs, well before they had the right to vote.

From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2026

"It wasn’t her family pictures, it wasn't her jewellery, it was her quilting."

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024

Repurposing fabric — from tattered blankets, frayed rags, stained clothes — is a central ethos of the community’s quilting practice, which resists commodification.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2024

I’d cut and folded squares of fabric for the quilting class and tried to push away the thought of leaving, the box of letters under my bed, and Momma in general.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• bedspread
• blanket
• comforter